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Battlefield 1942

From PCGamingWiki, the wiki about fixing PC games
Battlefield 1942
Battlefield 1942 cover
Developers
DICE
macOS (OS X) Aspyr Media
Publishers
Electronic Arts
Engines
Refractor 2[1][2]
Release dates
Windows September 10, 2002
macOS (OS X) June 28, 2004
Battlefield 1942 guide on StrategyWiki
Battlefield 1942 on Wikipedia

Warnings

The Mac OS X version of this game does not work on Mac OS X Lion (version 10.7) or later due to the removal of support for PowerPC apps.
GameSpy online services have been shut down (see Network for solutions).
Battlefield 1942 2002
Battlefield Vietnam 2004
Battlefield 2 2005
Battlefield 2142 2006
Battlefield Heroes 2009
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 2010
Battlefield Online 2010
Battlefield Play4Free 2011
Battlefield 3 2011
Battlefield 4 2013
Battlefield Hardline 2015
Battlefield 1 2016
Battlefield V 2018
Battlefield 2042 2021

Key points

The GameSpy online server browser has been shut down. See Online play support.
Official mod tools available, as well as a wide selection of mods, which often support bots for co-op play.
Expansions do not work with the Origin version.

General information

Official Website
Battlefield 1942 on the Battlefield Wiki
Battlefield 1942 hub on Planet Battlefield
The Battlefield series on Battlelog - PC section.
EA Answers HQ

Availability

Source DRM Notes Keys OS
Retail
Disc check (requires the CD/DVD in the drive to play)
CD key
SafeDisc v2 DRM[Note 1]
Windows
SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows Vista and later (see above for affected versions).
This game is no longer available digitally.[5]

DLC and expansion packs

Name Notes
The Road to Rome OS X version only sold in bundles.
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Secret Weapons of WWII
Windows
macOS (OS X)

Essential improvements

Patches

The Origin digital release is patched to v1.612.

Patch 1.6.19 Full

Incremental Patch 1.6.19 -> 1.61b

Version check[6]
In order to check which version is installed, open the file <path-to-game>\Mods\bf1942\init.con and find the line game.setCustomVersion.

Windows 8/10 compatibility

Install DirectPlay[6]

Online play support

After the shutdown of GameSpy, the community set up a new master server to keep the server browser functional.
Either download a modified executable or edit the hosts file to restore online functionality.

Download the patched executable[7]
Edit hosts file[8]
  1. Go to %WINDIR%\System32\drivers\etc\.
  2. Open hosts with an editor like Notepad.
  3. Add the line 109.71.69.254 master.gamespy.com and save the file.

Notes

This will break online fixes for other GameSpy games that rely on the same method.

PunkBuster updates

The Origin version doesn't contain or support PunkBuster.

Support for the anti-cheat software PunkBuster in BF1942 has been discontinued by Evenbalance. Most servers do not have it enabled anymore,
as such it is recommended to move the contents of <path-to-game>/pb/ to a backup folder, to avoid any disconnects by its service.
If an up to date version is required however, follow the steps below.

Update PunkBuster manually[6]
Make sure the PunkBuster service is installed and working properly by using the PunkBuster Service Installer (pbsvc). A reboot is required if it is installed for the first time.
  1. Download the PunkBuster files.
  2. Extract the contents to <path-to-game>/pb/, overwriting any older files.
  3. Enable PunkBuster in-game in the lower left corner of the server browser.

Skip intro videos

Launch the game with +restart 1 parameter[6]
Modify intro video files[6]
  1. Go to <path-to-game>\Movies\
  2. Delete or rename the files Dice.bik, EA.bik, Intro.bik and Legal.bik.

Game data

In-game general settings.
In-game general settings.

Configuration file(s) location

System Location
Windows <path-to-game>\Mods\bf1942\Settings\[Note 2]
macOS (OS X)
User-specific *.con is stored under Profiles\<user-id>\ in this location.

Save game data location

System Location
Windows <path-to-game>\Mods\bf1942\save\<user-id>\[Note 2]
macOS (OS X)

Save game cloud syncing

System Native Notes
Origin

Video settings

In-game graphics settings.
In-game graphics settings.

Template:Video settings

Widescreen resolution

Download and extract the patched executable for the retail or Origin version[6]

Field of view (FOV)

Edit VideoDefault.con[6]
  1. Go to the configuration file(s) location.
  2. Open VideoDefault.con with a text editor.
  3. Edit the line renderer.fieldOfView with a new value.
1 - 4:3 (default)
1.33333 - 16:9
1.75 - 21:9
1.2 - 16:10
1.25 - 15:9

Notes

May cause visual glitches when inside vehicles.
May not work properly when combined with windowed mode, Borderless Gaming, and multiple monitors.

Input settings

In-game key map settings.
In-game key map settings.

Template:Input settings

Audio settings

In-game general audio settings.
In-game general audio settings.
In-game advanced audio settings.
In-game advanced audio settings.

Template:Audio settings

Network

Multiplayer types

Type Native Players Notes
LAN play
64 Co-op, Versus
Online play
64 Co-op, Versus
GameSpy services have been shut down;[9] see GameSpy for workarounds.

Connection types

Type Native Notes
Matchmaking
Peer-to-peer
Dedicated
Self-hosting
Dedicated server software available:

Windows: Standalone and patch
Linux: Standalone and patch

OS X: Standalone
Download patched server files to allow communication with the community master server and both Origin and CD users to connect.
Direct IP
In-game option or use +joinServer parameter with IP:Port.[10]

Ports

Protocol Port(s) and/or port range(s)
TCP 28900
UDP 14567, 14690, 22000, 23000-23009, 27900
Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) support status is unknown.

Issues fixed

Blackscreen/crash at launch

Install compatibility profile[11]
  1. Download the compatibility profile.
  2. Either run the installer or install it manually using the batch file.

Notes

Remove any compatibility mode setting on the games executable and activate "Run this program as an administrator".
Disable sound hardware acceleration[12]
  1. Go to <path-to-game>\Mods\bf1942\Settings\Profiles\Custom\.
  2. Open Sound.con.
  3. Change game.setHardware 1 to 0.
Modify VideoDefault.con[13]
  1. Go to <path-to-game>\Mods\bf1942\Settings\.
  2. Open VideoDefault.con.
  3. Add the line renderer.allowAllRefreshRates 1.

Other information

API

Technical specs Supported Notes
Direct3D 8
Executable 32-bit 64-bit Notes
Windows
macOS (OS X)

Middleware

Middleware Notes
Cutscenes Bink Video
Multiplayer GameSpy
Anti-cheat PunkBuster

Console commands

The console can be accessed by pressing ~. Below are some common commands, for a more extensive list visit the TweakTown Tweak Guide.

  • fps 1 Shows frames per second.
  • hud 0 Disables heads-up display.
  • freecam 1 Unlocks the camera while waiting for spawn (if allowed by server).

Mods

Mods are mostly compatible with the Origin version of the game. However, some installers may not work as they look for the retail installation path.


Desert Combat
This mod is set during the Gulf War and supplies an arsenal of modern weapons and vehicles, and many new maps.

Forgotten Hope
Forgotten Hope concentrates on adding both a more realistic and more enjoyable playing experience than the original BF1942 and includes many new specially designed custom maps to play in.

BattleGroup42
BattleGroup42 focuses on adding historically accurate equipment and battles to the game and includes many nations not included in the original game or expansions such as China, Greece, Netherlands and Hungary.

Battlefield 1918
A total conversion which takes place in World War 1 and includes many new weapons, vehicles and maps.

Eve Of Destruction
A mod based on the Vietnam war which later got releases for Battlefield Vietnam and Battlefield 2.

Realplayer AI
This enhancement mod will improve the AI on the standard BF1942 maps and includes some balance changes.

System requirements

Windows
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) 98
Processor (CPU) AMD Athlon 500 MHz
Intel Pentium III 500 MHz
System memory (RAM) 128 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 1.2 GB
Video card (GPU) 3D accelerator with Hardware T&L and 24-bit z-buffer
32 MB of VRAM

Notes

  1. SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows 10[3] or Windows 11 and is disabled by default on Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1 when the KB3086255 update is installed.[4]
  2. 2.0 2.1 When running this game without elevated privileges (Run as administrator option), write operations against a location below %PROGRAMFILES%, %PROGRAMDATA%, or %WINDIR% might be redirected to %LOCALAPPDATA%\VirtualStore on Windows Vista and later (more details).

References